The present application claims priority to GB 1413262.5 filed 25 Jul. 2014, the specification of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to optical apparatus and associated methods of use of the optical apparatus.
Optical filter wheels are commonly used to insert a filter into a light beam or to remove a filter from a light beam and/or to position different filters in the light beam so that different optical wavebands may be isolated for study. Common applications of filters wheels are found in: astronomy (for example in order to analyse a star's colour); microscopy; laser beam passing or stopping; and fluorescence imaging (of biological samples for example).
Optical filter wheels are typically designed to be mounted on a lens of an optical apparatus, such as a camera, for filtering light as it enters the lens. Given the nature of optical arrangements commonly encountered in the above-mentioned fields, however, such filter wheels can be undesirably large and cumbersome and can therefore result in the optical apparatus being more unwieldy.
It is an aim of the present invention to alleviate at least some of the aforementioned problems.